Natural track luge

Luge

Departing German luger at the 2010 Olympics
Highest governing body	Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course
First played	1870s
Characteristics
Contact	No
Team members	Teams of 1 or 2
Mixed gender	Yes, but usually in separate competitions
Type	Winter sport, Time trial
Equipment	Sled, helmet, suit, visor, gloves, finger spikes, booties
Venue	Luge tracks
Presence
Olympic	Part of Winter Olympic program in 1964 to 2026

A luge /luːʒ/ is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) and feet-first. A luger steers by using their calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh 21–25 kg (46–55 lb) for singles and 25–30 kg (55–66 lb) for doubles. Luge is also the name of an Olympic sport.

Lugers can reach speeds of 140 km/h (87 mph). Austrian Manuel Pfister reached a top speed of 154 km/h (96 mph) on a track in Whistler, Canada, prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics. Lugers compete against a timer in one of the most precisely timed sports in the world—to one one-thousandth of a second on artificial tracks.

The first recorded use of the term "luge" dates to 1905 and derives from the Savoy/Swiss dialect of the French word luge, meaning "small coasting sled."

The very practical use of sleds is ancient and widespread. The first recorded sled races took place in Norway sometime during the 15th century.

The sport of luge, like the skeleton and the bobsleigh, originated in the health-spa town of St Moritz, Switzerland, in the mid-to-late 19th century, through the endeavours of hotel entrepreneur Caspar Badrutt. Badrutt successfully sold the idea of winter resorting, as well as rooms with food, drink, and activities. His more adventurous English guests began adapting delivery boys' sleds for recreation, which led to collisions with pedestrians as they sped down the lanes and alleys of the village.